Moonlight and Roses
by Roses and Jazz
Summary: Post Movie. Rizzo and Kenickie are planning their wedding, Sandy's trying to reconcile the dual personality problems arrising from her makeover, Danny's trying to find a steady job, and the rest of the gang is just along for the ride.
1. Chapter 1

Moonlight and Roses

Chapter One: Rizzo's Point of View

"I'm just saying it's ironic, that's all," Frenchie persisted, all wide eyes and innocence.

"You still beating that dead horse, French?" I snapped, leafing through the dresses on the rack as if they were pages in a particularly boring book. At least, I was trying to be that casual about it. I was trying to act like I belonged here. The sight of so much snow white satin was making me a little jumpy, but I had to stick it out.

The sales girl had already come by twice, asking us, "Is there anything I could help you young ladies with?" and "Are you sure you're in the right store?" It really burned my biscuits. Who was she to assume the Pink Ladies didn't belong in a bridal shop? I'd show her. I'd be the classiest damn bride she'd ever have in her little corner store. Betty Rizzo never backed down from a challenge.

"I'm just saying," Frenchie squeaked. "You and Kenickie are getting married, and Danny and Sandy are getting kicked out of every respectable joint in town for making out in bathroom stalls." She spread her hands out helplessly. "It's like bizarre world here!"

I was about to say something really impressive and crushing--something rude at least--but Sandy beat me to the punch.

"You're exaggerating, Frenchie. It was only that one time," she shrugged, crushing an imaginary cigarette under her toe. It was the first time since her pre-graduation transformation that any of us had seen Sandy without an actual cigarette. It was almost like she had become addicted to those things. "I told Danny that that was the woman's bathroom. I told him he couldn't follow me in there. I told him we were going to get caught. He is just so incorrigible sometimes."

That's Sandy for you. Still managing to sound prissy and innocent even when dolled up as and acting the part of the greaser's fast and loose dream girl.

"I did everything I could to stop him," Sandy added, fluffing her hair.

"Sure ya did," I teased her.

"I did," Sandy screeched defensively. That high-pitched, honor defending squeal was the one habit she couldn't kick. Any question of just how pure little Miss Too Pure To Be Pink still was met with a test of the emergency broadcast system. The kid still cared a little too much what people thought. "What was I supposed to do, make a scene and storm out of there? That was the old Sandy."

"Hey, what did the old Sandy do with her wardrobe anyway? I could use a Halloween costume." Jan asked, not unkindly, as she tried on veils. You would think she was the one getting married by the amount of bridal paraphernalia that managed to find its way onto that girl.

"Jan, we're not teenagers anymore." Marty sighed as she fingered a frilly dress that she would never be able to convince me to try on. "Only children dress up for Halloween."

"If you must know," Jan said with an air of disdain. "I'm taking my baby sister around the neighborhood for my mom."

"Sounds like more of a trick than a treat to me," I quipped, selecting a dress that wasn't too horrible from the rack.

"You can't wear that!" Sandy said, in a shock tone reminiscent to her early days at Rydell.

"Why not?" I challenged.

"It's white," Sandy explained.

I looked Sandy over: red heels, leather pants, teased hair, and scandalized expression. She was one strange walking contradiction.

"Well, I don't think they have any pink dresses," I answered, keeping the animosity to a minimum.

"I'm sorry, Riz." The apology only ever took five seconds, but damage done by the comments kept accumulating.

I opened my mouth to tell her that it was alright, that I don't offend that easily, but something else came out instead. "What kind of dress are you going to be wearing for your wedding, Suzie Q.? White with beige trim? You ain't exactly an angel yourself any more from what I hear." I guess I just can't help but push people's buttons.

Sandy turned beet red. "True, I've let Danny take some more liberties than I probably should have, but we haven't done anything wrong. Nothing near what you and..."

That was it. Time to stop the kid before she made a big mistake. "Be cool, Sandy. I was only joking around. I have no doubts you're still as pure as the driven snow for the most part," I said placating. I didn't want to have to fight Sandy right now. What can I say, I was going soft in my old age. I couldn't resist giving her one last condescending look though and adding contemptuously. "No doubt at all."

"Can I help you with anything?" the sales girl broke in, her voice really suggesting, "Can throw you out into the gutter with the rest of the trash?"

"No, as a matter of fact, we were just leaving, weren't we girls?" I said haughtily.

"Yes, there's nothing here that's up to our standards ," Marty added convincingly. A little too convincingly. If she and Frenchie tried to force me into something with a train I was going to have to kick their asses.

I turned on my heel and sashayed out of the bridal shop, trusting my friends to follow me. I could hear the sales girl's relieved sigh from out on the street.


	2. Chapter 2

AN:// 63 views and 3 reviews. I'm thankful that I'm so popular but I still think there's a bit a discrepancy in those numbers. Would kill you all to let me know what you think? If you don't let me know, I'm going to assume you all hated it. Feel more than free to let me know how I can improve. The atrocious grammar in the dialogue is purposeful because that's how the T-birds and Pink Ladies talk, but if you notice any other mistakes tell me.

Chapter 2: Kenickie's POV

"Nice monkey suit." The taunt came with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, what did you do, Kenickie," the latecomer joined in, "Steal it off a dead guy?"

I adjusted the collar of my jacket. The suit had been my old man's. He left it behind in the apartment when he skipped town. I didn't think it looked half bad on me. The only problem was that it was a little long, which was why I was standing in a tailor's shop being harassed by the three stooges.

I snarled at Sonny, Doody, and Putzie and the jokers recoiled. "Open your mouths again and I'll be wearing it to _your_ funerals."

"Ooh, nice comeback," Sonny laughed, consumed with his own bravado.

"Leave off," I snapped, smoothing the collar once more for good measure. I took a comb from my pocket and started to touch up my hair. "Why are you kids here anyway? Don't you have anything better to do?"

"No," Putzie shrugged.

Doody elbowed him in the stomach. "We just couldn't resist seeing for ourselves how the mighty had fallen."

"Yeah, just when you fixed that trash heap you call a car up enough to attract some real attention from the ladies, you give it all up for Rizzo of all people."

I was trying to find a way that I could defend both my rep and my lady at the same time when the tailor walked into the room. He was a scrawny little guy with beady eyes and oversized glasses. He looked like he could be Eugene's uncle. He took a measuring tape from around his neck and cleared his throat.

"You can't smoke in here," he said with what was a surprisingly forceful voice for such a shrimp. "Store policy."

"No problem." I spat my cigarette on the floor. The shrimp quickly stomped on it, giving me a look like I had just beheaded a baby. "So we gonna fit this suit or are you gonna stand here and lecture me on store policy all day?"

The rest of the T-birds chuckled appreciatively. Shrimp didn't get my sense of humor.

The tailor measured my arms and my chest, sticking pins in the suit fabric to hold his place. It was little uncomfortable, but nothing I couldn't handle until…

"Hey! Woah-no! Watch what you're doing with that measuring tape, unless you want me to knock your block off."

"I need to measure the in-seam of the pants," Shrimp said calmly.

"The in-seam is fine." I said gruffly. "No guy handles my merchandise."

"It will only take a second Mr.."

"Kenickie," I supplied. I gave Shrimp and the quietly laughing buffoons behind him what was supposed to be several degrees of an intimidating look. "And it will take less than a second, because you're going to take that measuring tape back up to my arms and we're all going to pretend like this never happened. You got me?"

Shrimp gave me this defiant look like he could of really stood up to me and my boys, but backed down. Sonny, Putzie, and Doody echoed that they "got me."

"Alright then; let's get this over with."

"And then tough guy over here jumps ten feet into the air and squawks like a chicken," Sonny guffawed. Doody and Putzie added sound effects and made chicken wings out of their arms. "You should have been there, Zuke."

Danny Zuko, my best friend since we learned how to pick the lock to his parents' liquor cabinet when we were seven, straightened his jacket collar and blew a puff of smoke out of the side of his mouth. "I'm sorry I wasn't." The comment was directed at me, not at the jokers.

"I know." I assured him. "I understand."

"Well, I don't," a slightly pouty Australian voice interrupted. "What were you doing that was so important that you couldn't be there for Kenickie?" I could never make up my mind whether Danny had lucked out or struck out on the roulette wheel of love when he found Sandy, but she made him happy and that was good enough for me.

"Stuff," Danny replied. I winced. Didn't he know by now that that act didn't work with Sandy?

Sandy shrugged. "That's cool."

Well, maybe Danny had her trained better than I thought.

"I was there for Rizzo though," Sandy added pointedly.

I turned my head to look at Riz--a hard task since her head was leaned on my shoulder. "I almost forgot about that. How'd it go?"

"Beautifully. The two of us found some common ground and really bonded, just like you wanted. In fact, Sandy's my new maid of honor," my fiancée said sarcastically.

I raised my eyes to look at the sky. I wished she wouldn't call me out like that in front of the guys. Of course I wanted my girl to be friends with Danny's girl, but I didn't want everyone to know that wanted that. "That bad, huh?"

"Not quite, but close," Riz admitted.

Everybody turned to Sandy to see how she would react.

"At least we didn't pull each other's hair out this time," Sandy joked.

"The day's still young, honey," Rizzo teased back.

There it was, a spark of comradely behavior. Maybe there was hope for their relationship yet.

"Did you find a dress?" I changed the subject.

"No." Her voice implied that it would be a bad idea to ask for details.

"You going to look again tomorrow?"

"No." Rizzo brought her head up off my shoulder and shot me a challenging look.

"So what...you going to get married in your pencil skirt and Pink Ladies jacket?"

"It'd look better than that moth ball you're wearing."

Everyone quieted down in anticipation of a famous Rizzo/Kenickie shouting match.

I hated being that couple. I soften my tone and allowed a crooked smile to creep onto my face. I grabbed Rizzo's arm and slowly pulled her around to face me and slung my other arm around her waist." You saying I should go out and get myself a pencil skirt?"

She put her hands on my shoulders and returned my smile. "Only if you want to."

I bent my head down to kiss her, and Sonny made a gagging noise.

"Stifle, grease ball," Rizzo snapped.

My smile widened. That's why I loved her.


End file.
